"I am happy that I am divorced now. I will be able to go back to school," Nojud Mohammed Ali said, after a public hearing in Sanaa's court of first instance. Her former husband, 28-year-old Faez Ali Thameur, said he married the child "with her consent and that of her parents" but that he did not object to her divorce petition. In response to a question from Judge Mohammed al-Qadhi, he acknowledged that the "marriage was consummated, but I did not beat her."

I wonder where they get the idea from???????

I think GWB has just found the perfect excuse to invade Yemen. Although the age of consent there is 9, so that's technically illegal.

1 Singwell, the questioner, is out again on her crusade. You don’t have to take my word for it look for yourself at the questions, answers and comments she’s been posting on AB. What she doesn't realise is that there are many who'll be clever enough to see what she's driving at. They know that what singwell is doing reflects badly both on her and Christianity, the religion she claims to follow. 2 She’s not openly challenging or questioning Islam, that would be quite legitimate and fair. She’s not even quoting statistics or making general comparisons, that would also be quite acceptable. What she's doing is scouring the media and finding INDIVIDUAL emotionally appealing cases and parading them on AB to create a negative image. Anyone can stoop down to that level. 3 Generally speaking, child abuse in the western world is so common that only serious cases make it into the news. Even so, one wouldn't have to scour the news to find stories of child neglect, physical and sexual abuse, even child rape, child pornography and child prostitution. But I haven't come across any Muslim picking an individual story from the news media and parading it on AB to give an impression that this is what Christianity is all about. Any Muslim who did that would really go right down in my estimation. 4 Islamic requirements are stated in the HQ. If Islam states a requirement Muslims have to abide by it wherever they are. For example, the HQ requires Muslims, whenever they are praying, to face the ‘kaaba’ in Mecca. HQ 2:144 says “Wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction.” So, wherever there are Muslims, whether in the east, west, north or south, they will strive to face the ‘kaaba’ in Mecca in their prayers. It is a clearly stated Islamic requirement. 5 Whatever is not an Islamic requirement Islam leaves people’s cultures and customs to decide. There is no mention in the HQ of the age at which anyone should marry. This is a cultural matter. If Islam had specified an age for marriage we’d find Muslims everywhere abiding by it. There are Muslims in the west, perhaps singwell would like to tell us whether Muslims in the west are striving or even expressing a desire to marry their daughters off in their pre teens. 6 I wouldn’t be surprised if the percentage of girls getting married at an early age constitutes a minority, even in the countries where such marriages are culturally acceptable. Since singwell appears to take such a keen interest in this subject she must know. Also, since this is a cultural issue, I’d strongly suspect that the practice is not confined to any particular faith, but here again singwell with her expertise must know.

Simple: If Yemen claims to be an Islamic country, hypocrisy has occurred as the Rules of Islam have not been followed. - Islam does not allow a girl to be married before puberty - Islam does not allow a girl to be forced into marriage (if any hesitation is noticed from the girl, the marriage must be called of). The Yemeni government is to blame twice 1-for allowing marriage before puberty 2-allowing girl to be forced into marriage. And the father is to blame twice 1-for forcing marriage of his child 2-marriage at young age. As stated, the rules of islam have not been followed, but (obviously) islam will be blamed.